Octopus billing issue

KateHDJ

I have been with octopus over a year and despite submitting regular meter readings over the last year I only just got my first bill through for Feb 2023-Feb 2024 which has put my account £700 in debit.

In hindsight I should’ve got in contact with octopus earlier however the monthly payments were similar to my previous supplier so I didn’t think much of it. I continued to get emails throughout the year saying they would increase my monthly payments if they noticed the account was heading into debit but I never heard anything so just presumed it was fine.

My question is, I know I used the energy so I do technically owe it but it doesn’t seem right they can charge me £700 suddenly when if they’d issued me a bill throughout the year I would’ve spotted it earlier and increased payments. Has anyone had a similar issue?

BellaBlondykeTheThird

KateHDJ said:

I have been with octopus over a year and despite submitting regular meter readings over the last year I only just got my first bill through for Feb 2023-Feb 2024 which has put my account £700 in debit.

In hindsight I should’ve got in contact with octopus earlier however the monthly payments were similar to my previous supplier so I didn’t think much of it. I continued to get emails throughout the year saying they would increase my monthly payments if they noticed the account was heading into debit but I never heard anything so just presumed it was fine.

My question is, I know I used the energy so I do technically owe it but it doesn’t seem right they can charge me £700 suddenly when if they’d issued me a bill throughout the year I would’ve spotted it earlier and increased payments. Has anyone had a similar issue?

Yes and no, no harm raising a complaint to see if Octopus will add a goodwill gesture to your account for their poor billing practices?

Highlight the issues.

njkmr

Happened to me.
No electric readings received from their "smart" meter since last September.
I was blissfully unaware as I was paying off £1500 worth of gas that escaped.(  Another story).
Anyhow yes I had to pay it off (£700+) as I had used the electric and it was my fault for not sending in readings for their smart meter.
Sorry not what you wanted to hear.
But good luck and see what they say.

QrizB

KateHDJ said:

I have been with octopus over a year and despite submitting regular meter readings over the last year I only just got my first bill through for Feb 2023-Feb 2024 which has put my account £700 in debit.

How much has your monthly payment been?

Being £700 in debit when your monthly payment is £100 is quite a different circumstance than if your payment is £500.

Octopus should let you catch up over the next 12 months, so an extra £60 a month or so on top of your recalculated DD.

KateHDJ

QrizB said:

KateHDJ said:

I have been with octopus over a year and despite submitting regular meter readings over the last year I only just got my first bill through for Feb 2023-Feb 2024 which has put my account £700 in debit.

How much has your monthly payment been?

Being £700 in debit when your monthly payment is £100 is quite a different circumstance than if your payment is £500.

Octopus should let you catch up over the next 12 months, so an extra £60 a month or so on top of your recalculated DD.

£70 a month, they’re forecasting an increase up to £200 a month for the next year which is obviously not ideal. All this has happened because they told me my account was in good shape so they didn’t need to increase my monthly payments back up after the end of the energy support scheme (balance would be pretty much normal now if they put it back up after that)

QrizB

KateHDJ said:

QrizB said:

KateHDJ said:

I have been with octopus over a year and despite submitting regular meter readings over the last year I only just got my first bill through for Feb 2023-Feb 2024 which has put my account £700 in debit.

How much has your monthly payment been?

Being £700 in debit when your monthly payment is £100 is quite a different circumstance than if your payment is £500.

Octopus should let you catch up over the next 12 months, so an extra £60 a month or so on top of your recalculated DD.

£70 a month, they’re forecasting an increase up to £200 a month for the next year which is obviously not ideal.

That makes sense, although I agree that tripling your monthly payment might come as a shock!

Qyburn

KateHDJ said:

I have been with octopus over a year and despite submitting regular meter readings over the last year I only just got my first bill through for Feb 2023-Feb 2024 which has put my account £700 in debit.

Have Octopus said why they didnt raise a bill in spite of receiving meter readings?